FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Deborah Hakes, 404-420-5124, dhakes@emory.edu
ATLANTA...An international group of human rights organizations and human rights defenders meeting at The Carter Center today issued an urgent appeal for President-elect Barack Obama to renew U.S. commitments to human rights principles and practices that have been abandoned since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks against the United States.
"In our efforts to defend ourselves against terror, the United States has abandoned the human rights principles it has long championed," said former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. "We must renew our national commitment to human rights and encourage the international community to support the work of human rights defenders worldwide, whose efforts have been undermined by the U.S. example in recent years."
The groups specific recommendations, coming on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Dec. 10, included:
Human rights defenders attending the forum were on the one hand daunted by the precipitous deterioration of rights in their countries yet cautiously optimistic by the transformational figure they see in President-elect Obama. While their experiences are quite different, their calls to the new president resonate with many common themes concerning the promotion and protection of human rights and are summarized in the following report.
They also made very specific proposals for U.S. policy toward their countries that will be incorporated into a full conference report and forwarded to the incoming Obama administration.
"The United States and other governments have expanded executive power at the expense of the legislature and the courts. Experience shows that if checks and balances are not adequate the margin of abuse is high. There is a clear need to protect them, "added U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay, who co-chaired the meeting with President Carter.
The Carter Center forum brought together some of the most effective human rights defenders from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Egypt, Israel, Syria, Indonesia, Columbia Brazil, Zimbabwe, Uganda, and Nigeria, as well as leaders of Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, The Constitution Project, International Center for Transitional Justice, Physicians for Human Rights, The Open Society Institute, Center for Victims of Torture, Center for Constitutional Rights, national Religious Campaign against torture, and others.
Following is the complete statement issued by the group of 50 leaders.
For more information on the work of human rights defenders in specific countries worldwide visit: http://www.cartercenter.org/peace/human_rights/defenders/index.html
Statement from the Human Rights Defenders Conference
The Carter Center
Dec. 2-3, 2008
This year, we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which was adopted by the member nations of the United Nations under the leadership of Eleanor Roosevelt. Like our Bill of Rights, the UDHR and the treaties it inspired form a framework of rules for the protection of fundamental human rights, but at a global level. Human rights defenders from all continents have gathered in Atlanta this week to discuss approaches for renewing a global movement that had made tremendous gains before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, after which the U.S. government abandoned its commitments to basic human rights.
With human rights catastrophes unfolding in Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, as well as regions of strategic concern to the United States, such as the Middle East and South Asia, it is essential that the United States restore its good reputation on human rights so that it can once again be an effective force is addressing these and future human rights challenges.
Returning to Principles:
Since its adoption, the UDHR and related treaties had become invaluable tools for people all over the world who are struggling to establish democratic governments that respect their citizens' rights. The Convention Against Torture, for example, lent weight to the efforts of local activists from Egypt to Argentina to end this practice in their countries. Indefinite detention and the deprivation of due process rights for detainees are also prohibited by human rights treaties. However, as the United States became a violator of these rights in the conduct of the "war on terror," authoritarian regimes across the globe found an excuse for human rights abuses in the name of security. Human rights defenders from Egypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and many other countries described how this situation poses a major setback for their efforts to advance human rights in their countries.
President-elect Barack Obama has made a commitment to restore America's position as a champion of universal human rights. With his election and the transformative moment that accompanies it, our nation has a renewed opportunity help the global human rights movement find its footing once again. We gathered this week to assess this moment and the opportunity it presents.
The tragic events in Mumbai last week remind us that there is an urgent need to improve our approaches to combating terror groups through a combination of effective intelligence, coordinated policing, and effective socio-economic development throughout the entire South Asian region. If the societies that profess adherence to democracy and universal rights are going to win the battle for the hearts and minds of the people, we have to offer the opposite of terror: trustworthy government. In additional to major efforts to improve the lives of people through universal education, access to employment and an adequate standard of living, it also means ensuring fair trials for people who are captured and clear guidelines on effective interrogation that honors international prohibitions against torture.
When asked how human rights defenders in Pakistan propose to address the threat that terrorists pose to the enjoyment of human rights, attorney Hina Jilani stated simply that the answer is to put them on trial and expose their crimes to society at large. Then, she said, all people will reject their actions and consider the judgment of the court as legitimate punishment. If people are tortured, disappeared, or held indefinitely, their cases become a source of grievance, which will only help terrorist leaders gain more recruits.
Those gathered agreed that there are only long-term solutions to defeating terror groups, but it must be a battle that is waged within a framework of rules. Although it has taken seven years, our courts have finally drawn clear lines between individual rights and the exercise of executive power against individuals, even in the context of terrorism. The American people and our courts have rejected the proposition that some people's rights can be suspended arbitrarily and that to do so violates the very core of our democracy.
In order to restore the moral authority of these instruments, human rights experts and defenders attending the forum this week urge the incoming Obama administration to:
By taking these steps to put our own house in order, the United States would reclaim its moral authority and wield not only the political capital, but the credibility needed to engage in frank but respectful bi-lateral dialogues on the protection of human rights as central to world peace and prosperity.
Advancing Human Rights: Views from the Frontlines
The Forum brings together some of the most effective human rights defenders from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Egypt, Israel, Syria, Indonesia, Columbia, Brazil, Zimbabwe, Uganda, and Nigeria. It is these courageous individuals who can best diagnose the challenges their societies face. Policymakers in the United States, including the new president, should engage in a systematic dialogue with these leaders to design appropriate and effective policies that will lead to defeat of terrorism and to the emergence of capable states.
Human rights defenders attending the forum are on the one hand daunted by the precipitous deterioration of rights in their countries yet cautiously optimistic by the transformational figure they see in President-elect Obama. While their experiences are quite different, their calls to the new President resonate with many common themes concerning the promotion and protection of human rights:
Human rights defenders made very specific proposals for U.S. policy toward their countries which will be incorporated into a full conference report and forwarded to the incoming Obama administration.
The United Nations: Toward an Effective Global Forum for Rights
President-elect Obama has already made a number of positive statements supporting the United States' re-engagement and re-commitment to the United Nations. At the forum, human rights experts and defenders from around the world offered a number of concrete steps President-elect Obama could take immediately in this regard:
The eyes of human rights defenders around the world are fixed hopefully on the new White House administration, looking for a renewed commitment to human rights as it re-engages the world.
Read more about the Carter Center's work to support human rights defenders >>
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